1950 NBA Finals
{{Short description|1950 basketball championship series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{NBA Finals summary
| image =
| league = NBA
| year = 1950
| runnerup = Syracuse Nationals
| runnerup_coach = Al Cervi
| runnerup_games = 2
| champion = Minneapolis Lakers
| champion_coach = John Kundla
| champion_games = 4
| date = April 8−23
| MVP =
| HOFers = Lakers:
George Mikan (1959)
Jim Pollard (1978)
Vern Mikkelsen (1995)
Slater Martin (1982)
Nationals:
Dolph Schayes (1973)
Alex Hannum (1998, coach)
Al Cervi (1985)
Coaches:
John Kundla (1995)
Al Cervi (1985, player)
Officials:
Pat Kennedy (1959)
John Nucatola (1978)
| ECF result = Nationals defeated Knicks, 2–1
| WCF result = Not the Western final (see text). Central finalist Lakers defeated Western finalist Packers, 2–0
}}
The 1950 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s inaugural 1949–50 season following the merger of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The Central Division champion Minneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern Division champion Syracuse Nationals in a best-of-seven series with Syracuse having home-court advantage.{{cite news |title=Minneapolis Lakers capture NBA crown |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/journal-and-courier-minneapolis-lakers-c/149774452/ |access-date=21 June 2024 |work=Journal and Courier |agency=Associated Press |date=24 April 1950 |page=19 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}
In the event, six games were played in 16 days, beginning Saturday and Sunday, April 8 and 9, in Syracuse and incorporating two subsequent Sunday games in Minneapolis. Counting a Central Division tiebreaker played on Monday, March 20, the entire postseason tournament spanned five full weeks to Sunday, April 23.
The NBA was arranged in three divisions (for its first season only) and the first two rounds of the 1950 NBA Playoffs generated three Division champions. With the league's best regular season record, Syracuse had earned a place in the Finals by winning the Eastern Division title on the preceding Sunday, and had been five days idle while the Central and Western champions had played a best-of-three series mid-week.
In Game 1, the Lakers won on a buzzer beating shot by sub Bob "Tiger" Harrison, the first known case of a buzzer beater in the Finals. {{convert|6|ft|8|in|adj=on|spell=In}} Dolph Schayes of Syracuse led his team out to the finals after a 16.8 ppg average during the regular season. George Mikan, however, averaged 27.4 ppg and led the league.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}} Mikan would lead the Lakers past Syracuse in six games.
The championship was the Lakers third professional championship in a row after winning the NBL championship in 1948 and the BAA championship in 1949.
While the NBA was considered a new league at the time, it later retconned the three preceding BAA seasons as part of its own history, and thus presents the 1950 Finals as its fourth championship series.{{cite news |author1=Curtis Harris |title=How the NBA's 75th anniversary sweeps away its early history |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/01/21/nba-history-nbl-baa/ |access-date=21 June 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=21 January 2022}}{{cite web|title=NBA Season Recaps: 1946-2019|url=http://www.nba.com/history/nba-season-recaps/index.html|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=NBA.com|date=July 24, 2019|access-date=May 3, 2020}}
Series summary
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | April 8 | Syracuse Nationals | 66−68 (0−1) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 2 | April 9 | Syracuse Nationals | 91−85 (1−1) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 3 | April 14 | Minneapolis Lakers | 91−77 (2−1) | Syracuse Nationals |
| Game 4 | April 16 | Minneapolis Lakers | 77−69 (3−1) | Syracuse Nationals |
| Game 5 | April 20 | Syracuse Nationals | 83−76 (2−3) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 6 | April 23 | Minneapolis Lakers | 110−95 (4−2) | Syracuse Nationals |
Lakers win series 4−2
Rosters
{{NBA roster header|team=Minneapolis Lakers|season=1949-50}}
{{player2 | num = 15 | first = Don | last = Carlson| pos = GF | ft = 6 | in = 0 | lbs = 170 | college = Minnesota | DOB = 1919–03–22}}
{{player2 | num = 18 | first = Arnie | last = Ferrin| pos = GF | ft = 6 | in = 2 | lbs = 180 | college = Utah | DOB = 1925-07-29}}
{{player2 | num = 20 | first = Bud | last = Grant| pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 3 | lbs = 195 | college = Minnesota | DOB = 1927–05–20}}
{{player2 | num = 16 | first = Bob | last = Harrison | dab = basketball | pos = G | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 190 | college = Michigan| DOB = 1927–08–12}}
{{player2 | num = 11 | first = William | last = Hassett|link=Billy Hassett| pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 11 | lbs = 180 | college = Notre Dame | DOB = 1921-10-21}}
{{player2 | num = 13 | first = Anthony | last = Jaros | pos = GF | ft = 6 | in = 3 | lbs = 185 | college = Minnesota | DOB = 1920–02–22}}
{{player2 | num = 22 | first = Slater | last = Martin| pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 10 | lbs = 170 | college = Texas | DOB = 1925–10–22}}
{{player2 | num = 99 | first = George | last = Mikan| pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 10 | lbs = 245 | college = DePaul | DOB = 1924–06–18}}
{{player2 | num = 19 | first = Arild | last = Mikkelsen| pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 7| lbs = 230 | college = Hamline | DOB = 1928–10–21}}
{{player2 | num = 17 | first = James | last = Pollard| pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 4 | lbs = 185 | college = Stanford | DOB = 1922–07–09}}
{{player2 | num = 10 | first = Herman | last = Schaefer | pos = GF | ft = 6 | in = 0 | lbs = 175 | college = Indiana | DOB = 1918–11–20}}
{{NBA roster footer
| head_coach =
| roster_url = https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1950-nba-finals-lakers-vs-nationals.html
}}
{{NBA roster header|team=1949–50 Syracuse Nationals Eastern Division Champions
| bg1 = #002F6C | color1 =#FFFFFF
| bg2 = #D50032 | color2 =#FFFFFF
}}
{{player2 | num = 15 | first = Alfred | last = Cervi | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 11 | lbs = 170 | school = East HS (NY) | DOB = 1917–02–12 }}
{{player2 | num = 11 | first = Leroy | last = Chollet | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 2 | lbs = 190 | college = Canisius | DOB = 1925–03–05 }}
{{player2 | num = 9 | first = Raymond | last = Corley | pos = G | ft = 6 | in = 0 | lbs = 180 | college = Georgetown | DOB = 1928–01–14 }}
{{player2 | num = 7 | first = William | last = Gabor | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 11 | lbs = 170 | college = Syracuse | DOB = 1922–05–13 }}
{{player2 | num = 10 | first = Alexander | last = Hannum | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 7 | lbs = 210 | college = USC | DOB = 1923–07–19 }}
{{player2 | num = 14 | first = Andrew | last = Levane | pos = G | ft = 6 | in = 2 | lbs = 190 | college = St. John's | DOB = 1920–04–11 }}
{{player2 | num = 5 | first = John | last = Macknowski | pos = GF | ft = 6 | in = 0 | lbs = 180 | college = Seton Hall | DOB = 1923–01–07 }}
{{player2 | num = 13 | first = Edward | last = Peterson |link=Ed Peterson| pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 9 | lbs = 220 | college = Cornell | DOB = 1924–06–27 }}
{{player2 | num = 6 | first = George | last = Ratkovicz | pos = f | ft = 6 | in = 6 | lbs = 220 | school = Lindblom Academy (IL) | DOB = 1922-11-13 }}
{{player2 | num = 4 | first = Adolph | last = Schayes | pos = FC | ft = 6 | in = 8 | lbs = 220 | college = NYU | DOB = 1928–05–19 }}
{{player2 | num = 8 | first = Paul | last = Seymour | dab = basketball | pos = G | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 180 | college = Toledo | DOB = 1928-01-30}}
{{NBA roster footer
| head_coach =
| roster_url = https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1950-nba-finals-lakers-vs-nationals.html
}}
Box scores
{{basketballbox
| bg = #eee | date = April 8 | report = [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195004080SYR.html Boxscore]
| team1 = Minneapolis Lakers | score1 = 68
| team2 = Syracuse Nationals | score2 = 66
| Q1 = 16–10 | Q2 = 18–20 | Q3 = 17–23 | Q4 = 17–13
| points1 = George Mikan 37 | points2 = Dolph Schayes 19
| place = State Fair Coliseum, Geddes, New York | attendance = 7,552
| series = Minneapolis leads series, 1–0
}}
- Bob Harrison hits the game-winning shot from 40 feet at the buzzer.
{{basketballbox
| bg = | date = April 9 | report = [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195004090SYR.html Boxscore]
| team1 = Minneapolis Lakers | score1 = 85
| team2 = Syracuse Nationals | score2 = 91
| Q1 = 17–16 | Q2 = 14–28 | Q3 = 22–23 | Q4 = 32–24
| points1 = George Mikan 32 | points2 = George Ratkovicz 17
| place = State Fair Coliseum, Geddes, New York | attendance = 8,280
| series = Series tied, 1–1
}}
{{basketballbox
| bg = #eee | date = April 14 | report = [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195004140MNL.html Boxscore]
| team1 = Syracuse Nationals | score1 = 77
| team2 = Minneapolis Lakers | score2 = 91
| Q1 = 15–21 | Q2 = 24–21 | Q3 = 16–24 | Q4 = 22–25
| points1 = Johnny Macknowski 25 | assist1 = Paul Seymour 5
| points2 = George Mikan 28 | assist2 = George Mikan 8
| place = St. Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota | attendance = 10,288
| series = Minneapolis leads series, 2–1
}}
{{basketballbox
| bg = | date = April 16 | report = [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195004160MNL.html Boxscore]
| team1 = Syracuse Nationals | score1 = 69
| team2 = Minneapolis Lakers | score2 = 77
| Q1 = 22–27 | Q2 = 16–11 | Q3 = 19–24 | Q4 = 12–15
| points1 = Schayes, Hannum 18 each | assist1 = Bill Gabor 6
| points2 = George Mikan 28 | assist2 = Jim Pollard 4
| place = St. Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota | attendance = 10,512
| series = Minneapolis leads series, 3–1
}}
{{basketballbox
| bg = #eee | date = April 20 | report = [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195004200SYR.html Boxscore]
| team1 = Minneapolis Lakers | score1 = 76
| team2 = Syracuse Nationals | score2 = 83
| Q1 = 16–14 | Q2 = 8–24 | Q3 = 19–23 | Q4 = 33–22
| points1 = George Mikan 28 | points2 = Dolph Schayes 19
| place = State Fair Coliseum, Geddes, New York | attendance = 9,024
| series = Minneapolis leads series, 3–2
}}
{{basketballbox
| bg = | date = April 23 | report = [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195004230MNL.html Boxscore]
| team1 = Syracuse Nationals | score1 = 95
| team2 = Minneapolis Lakers | score2 = 110
| Q1 = 18–25 | Q2 = 21–26 | Q3 = 17–30 | Q4 = 39–29
| points1 = Dolph Schayes 23 | assist1 = Johnny Macknowski 5
| points2 = George Mikan 40 | assist2 = Jim Pollard 10
| place = Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota | attendance = 9,812
| referee = Jim Biersdorf, John Nucatola | series = Minneapolis wins series, 4–2
}}
References
{{reflist |25em |refs=
[https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1950.html "1949–50 NBA Season Summary"]. Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
Select "Previous Season" from the heading for 1948–49 BAA, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on.
}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120222160643/http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19491950.html 1950 Finals] at NBA.com
- [https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1950.html 1950 NBA Playoffs] at Basketball-Reference.com
{{NBA Finals}}
{{Minneapolis Lakers 1949–50 NBA champions}}
{{Los Angeles Lakers}}
{{Philadelphia 76ers}}
{{1949–50 NBA season by team}}
Category:History of Onondaga County, New York